Commissioned Bluebells

It's amazing how much stitching you can get done whilst on an hour long bus journey. I try not to waste the time I spend commuting each day, and whilst the morning journey isn't usually practical to be sewing through (too many school children crammed in like sardines), the afternoon journey is less overcrowded and gives me an opportunity to sit in my own space and sew.

Of course, there are many more challenges to overcome on the bus than in the sanctity of sitting in a chair in the living room; roundabouts, potholes, sharp bends, flying starts and sudden stops. There is an element of multitasking whilst you try to stay in your seat, keep all your luggage together and not stab yourself with the needle so as to bleed on the embroidery. The time does fly by though and you can achieve a good amount.

Last weeks commute time was taken up with my commissioned Bluebell stitchscape. It is much smaller than my original Bluebell Woods 'scape as I am using a 15cm hoop, but I have still tried to cram in all of the elements that were loved in the larger piece; the bluebells (funnily enough), the branches, the trees...
I used it as a demonstration piece at the Bridge Arts show on Saturday, and finished it off that evening. What do you think?

The bluebells were approached slightly differently, and they look a more solid block of blue than previously. The chunky knots were made with Sirdar Aran yarn, the shiny knots with DMC Mouline Silky embroidery thread, and the slight lustre knots with DMC embroidery thread. The difference in the light qualities of the yarn/threads used really helps to create elements of light and shadow, with the chunky yarns seeming to be further away even though they are larger in size. The silky thread really stands out, like rays of sun are filtering through the branches and highlighting the odd flower.
I've highlighted this idea of dappled light by using little green beads at the bottom of the bluebell stems as these also catch the light and create a slight sparkle.

For the leaves I've combined a DMC embroidery thread with Stylecraft Special DK yarn. This mirrors the textures of the bluebells below, but gives a fuller appearance to the leaves themselves. I really love how they curl around.

Stitches used here are seed stitch, running stitch, whip stitch, fly stitch, pekinese stitch, back stitch, long stitch, satin stitch, blanket stitch, french knots and bullion knots.

So now all that is left to do is to mount and frame this little lovely, and hope that the commissioner likes it!!